Role-Playing Games - The Players

Although a good Game Master is important, it is without doubt the players who make role-playing games such an enjoyable and entertaining event. I have been blessed with the privilege of playing with some of the finest folks to ever roll polyhedrals. This is my tribute to them, the real masters of the game.

Number of Players

Is there a "perfect" number of players for a game? It does vary with the game you are playing and with the demographics of your players. For us, a total of seven works well; one Dungeon Master and six players. Any more and there isn't enough space for everyone to be comfortable. Any less and you end up with a lot of nights where enough people miss the game to have to cancel.

Medals, Ribbons and Awards

Many role-playing games portray combat, battle and war as part of their very core. In a way, the players are the tabletop generals directing their troops (the characters) in battle. It is only fitting that a player be "decorated" with military-style medals for his accomplishments in the gaming group.

Medal	Name	Description
	Gold Star	Awarded to a player who played through an entire campaign.
	Silver Star	Awarded to a player who played in, but did not complete, a campaign. The player may have left the game or entered late, but he did not play the campaign through its entirety.
	Silver Cross	Each Silver Cross represents an additional awarding of a given ribbon.
	Gold Cross	Each Gold Cross represents five Silver Crosses.
	Annual Attendance Ribbon	Awarded to any player who attends every regularly scheduled game session for an entire year. Can be awarded once for each year.
	Black Egg Ribbon	Awarded to a player who played in the The Black Egg adventure from Dungeon Magazine #106.
	Campaign Attendance Ribbon	Awarded to the player who has best attendance for a completed campaign. In case of tie, awarded to each player tied. Can be awarded once for each campaign.
	Campaign Contributer Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has contributed material for the campaign web site either through OCR, typing, or designing material.
	Centurian	Awarded to a player who played in one hundred or more game sessions with the group. Can be awarded once for each one hundred games.
	City of the Spider Queen Ribbon	Awarded to a player who played in the City of the Spider Queen adventure from Wizards of the Coast.
	Class Mastery Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has played a character of each of the D&D core classes: barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, paladin, ranger, rogue, sorcerer and wizard. Each character must have been played in five or more games.
	Demonslayer Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has had the death blow on a true demon.
	Devilslayer Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has had the death blow on a true devil.
	Distinguished Service Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has played the same character in twenty-five or more game sessions. Can be awarded once for each character.
	Diversity Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has played five or more different role-playing game systems with the group.
	Dragonslayer Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has had the death blow on a true dragon.
	Dungeon Master Service Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has stepped behind the "screen" and ran one or more role-playing game sessions, of any system, for the group.
	Dungeons & Dragons Ribbon	Awarded to a player for each D&D character he has played with the group. Can be awarded once for each character.
	Epic Level Ribbon	Awarded to a player for each D&D character he has played who reaches level 21 or higher. Can be awarded once for each character.
	Giant Killer Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has had the death blow on a true giant.
	Halloween Hootenanny Event Ribbon	Awarded to a player who attended a Halloween Hootenanny gaming event. Can be awarded once per event.
	Lochfell's Secret Ribbon	Awarded to a player who played in the Lochfell's Secret adventure from the Wizards of the Coast web site.
	Membership Ribbon	Awarded to a player who participates in ten or more game sessions with group, signifying membership as a Bowling Green Gamer.
	Minuteman Ribbon	Awarded to a player who sacrifices several minutes of his/her time (60 or more) traveling (one way) to a game session on a regular basis.
	Plank Owner Ribbon	Awarded to a player who was one of the original members of the Brotherhood of the Badger campaign, which marked the true founding of this gaming group.
	Playtester Service Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has suffered through playtesting new game material written by the DM for a publication.
	PlemCon Event Ribbon	Awarded to a player who attended a PlemCon gaming event. Can be awarded once per event.
	Purple Heart	Awarded to a player who has lost a character who is not returned to play. Can be awarded once for each character.
	Race Mastery Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has played a character of each of the D&D core races: dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, half-orc, halfling, and human. Each character must have been played in five or more games.
	Recruiter Ribbon	Awarded to a player who recruits a player who joins the group. Can be awarded once for each player.
	Red Cross Ribbon	Awarded to a player who has played a character or cohort completely devoted to healing. Can be awarded once for each character or cohort.
	Shadowrun Ribbon	Awarded to a player for each Shadowrun character he has played with the group. Can be awarded once for each character.
	Thanksgaming Day Event Ribbon	Awarded to a player who attended a Thanksgaming Day gaming event. Can be awarded once per event.
	Vampire: The Masquerade Ribbon	Awarded to a player for each V:tM character he has played with the group. Can be awarded once for each character.

Elected Positions

There are a lot of things to do in a gaming group, and the DM should handle them all. It is often of great benefit to elect players to handle various aspects of running a game group.

	Chief Booty Inspector This elected official is responsible for distributing items discovered during adventures among the party members. A successful CBI makes sure everyone has a good mix of weapon types, potions are evenly dispersed, and exotic items wind up in the best hands for use.
	Gold Digger This elected official is responsible for collecting donations at each game for the Miniatures Fund as well as collecting donations for our pay-per-view/gaming combo events. Also, the Gold Digger keeps a record of donations so GEMs can be properly assigned.